Did NY trainers shut Borel out?

[FenceBored]

Steve Haskin in his Triple Crown wrap-up put in print something that I thought I heard Jerry Hissam (Calvin's agent) say on Steve Byk's show, namely that Calvin tried to get mounts for Wed-Sat, but was only able to secure one horse in a turf race.

Borel was criticized in many circles, including here, for not taking any mounts before the Belmont, despite his inexperience over the testing mile and a half oval. It has been learned that the decision was not his, and that he was unable to land any mounts. It is hard to believe not a single New York trainer would want the red-hot Borel on their horse and that not one mount was available from Wednesday to Sunday. Borel did manage to get named on one horse, but was advised to take off that particular mount.



If Borel indeed attempted to secure mounts and was unsuccessful, then the criticism was not justified. Borel is one rider whose work ethics have never been questioned. This information was never made public. At the Tuesday media luncheon, he was asked about not having any mounts and insisted it was not a big deal and that he had enough experience at Belmont, which led one to believe the decision was his.



But if he tried and was not able to get any mounts, then it is unfortunate, because the belief, as stated here on several occasions, is that a jockey who is inexperienced at Belmont, not having won a race there in 10 years, should have a few mounts prior to a race of this magnitude to get acquainted with the track, which has been the undoing of many a rider.




-- http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/51199/haskins-triple-crown-wrap-final-thoughts



So, who's decision was it that Calvin didn't ride a dirt race at Belmont before the Belmont Stakes? And, if it was the trainers who didn't want to ride him, does that change your thinking on things?

[Fingal]

I read that grassy knoll theory this morning & thought-
" Why would they shut him out ? " :confused:

Evidently Haskin is acting like he knows something. Well.............if you do, let's hear it.

[joanied]

Now that is an eye opener...and if it's true (and I gotta beleive Haskin has his facts straight)...then the trainers in NY should be ashamed...to shut out Calvin like that...this pisses me off:mad: and I hope everyone, including myself, that said anything about Calvin not riding a few races before the Belmont was a huge mistake, can now apologize to this wonderful person we call Bo Rail...

Calvin, if you tried to get mounts and couldn't...I am sorry I put you down for being too confident and thinking you didn't need a few trips around the track before the Belmont...my sincere apologies.

Why wasn't this news discovered until after the fact...makes ya wonder:confused:

[fmolf]

Now that is an eye opener...and if it's true (and I gotta beleive Haskin has his facts straight)...then the trainers in NY should be ashamed...to shut out Calvin like that...this pisses me off:mad: and I hope everyone, including myself, that said anything about Calvin not riding a few races before the Belmont was a huge mistake, can now apologize to this wonderful person we call Bo Rail...

Calvin, if you tried to get mounts and couldn't...I am sorry I put you down for being too confident and thinking you didn't need a few trips around the track before the Belmont...my sincere apologies.

Why wasn't this news discovered until after the fact...makes ya wonder:confused:
their must be some misinformation here or were not getting the whole story... i cannot believe that the trainers would conspire to keep borel from riding in the days leading up to the belmont.....perhaps he had prior commitments... perhaps he did not want to ride the longshots he was offered...maybe his agent advised him improperly.....who knows...we'll never know

[Run Nicholas Run]

dont believe the NY trainers would pull that, thats
a so-cal trainer type move.

[rokitman]

Nah, that's more a Jersey move.

[the little guy]

He took off his other mount on Belmont Day.

[fmolf]

He took off his other mount on Belmont Day.
yes he did so i believe their is more to this story not being told...

[joanied]

If there is more to this story....I wish someone would come up with it. I would sure like to know the truth.
I gave Calvin my public apology....but now I wonder what I was apologizing for...because, we may not know the entire story.
I hate to think the NY trainers would do such a thing...so, I hope it's not true...or at least, not all true.

Maybe Calvin's agent will pick up on this and make a statement.

[Pell Mell]

I think Gomez said on his blog that he was glad to get out of NY because he couldn't get rides. He said he hates hanging out all day to ride 2 races and it was a real hassle scrambling to get, what he called cheap mounts. I don't remember his exact words but if you can find his blog he talks about the mount problem.

[CryingForTheHorses]

Now that is an eye opener...and if it's true (and I gotta beleive Haskin has his facts straight)...then the trainers in NY should be ashamed...to shut out Calvin like that...this pisses me off:mad: and I hope everyone, including myself, that said anything about Calvin not riding a few races before the Belmont was a huge mistake, can now apologize to this wonderful person we call Bo Rail...

Calvin, if you tried to get mounts and couldn't...I am sorry I put you down for being too confident and thinking you didn't need a few trips around the track before the Belmont...my sincere apologies.

Why wasn't this news discovered until after the fact...makes ya wonder:confused:


I second this post!!!!

[redshift1]

I still think his showboating was distasteful to some.

[joanied]

Ya know, when it comes to 'showboating', I'm not sure that is what Calvin is doing...I think he's simply an emotional man that let's it all hang out...he's not affraid to cry, play to the crowd, hoot & holler and simply show everyone what he's feeling...and sometimes it's a more serious side... worry that he shows...remember after the Preakness, although he made sure everyone there stood up to cheer Rachel Alexandra, he wasn't doing his usual antics after huge win...you could see he was concerned for his filly, and wasn't going to fake it by doing his usual stuff...

[BUD]

I hate to cut & Paste But This really had me curious---

This is a Cut and Paste From Garretts Blog------I found it interesting--
---
I'll be there - I'm not sure which horse I'm going to ride right now; we're in the fortunate position of being able to look at a couple different options - but after that I'm going to head back to California for my daily business. In all actuality, every spring I've come to New York, I've ended up cutting my visit a little bit shorter. I love home. I love California. I'll travel and do what I have to do to ride the stakes races on the weekends, but racing in New York right now has a lot of cheaper races and New York-bred races, and a lot of people don't think about putting me on those kinds of horses. I think I've ridden 12 horses or something, maybe 15, here since after the Derby. I rode more than that in the two big days at Pimlico before the Preakness.


Also, it's keeping me away from my family again. They're very active in a lot of things and I'm missing out on that. I'm not trying to knock New York - the condition of racing is bad everywhere right now - but at least when I'm in California I ride for the people I ride for, guys who put me on five or six a day. I like to win, I like to stay busy. It's difficult just sitting around with nothing to do. Ha, I actually I think I aggravate my wife a little because I call her so many times during the day. I'm just like, “Hey, what's up, how's it going?”


Today, for instance, I ride the third and the ninth. So I really can't go anywhere or do anything, I'm here in the room from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. except for those two races. I can't do anything else but I'm not busy, I'm just killing time between a couple mounts. And that pretty much drives me crazy
---------------------------------------------

We Can infer if it was tough For G to get mounts when he was here--Maybe it was the same For Calvin-& Then Maybe He did not brake down the doors to Sucure them Either--?? Dunno---Very interesting--Would be good For A journalist to dig up the facts---Good story is there if you can find it-Sorry for being long..

[Cat Thief]

I think I read somewhere the horse he had on Belmont Day was scratched

[PaceAdvantage]

If I was a NY trainer, why would I want to put Borel on my horse? He is unfamiliar with Belmont, and I have quite a talented colony to choose from. Why in the world would I want to ride Borel?

Has nothing to do with shutting him out...had everything to do with not giving a crap....

[The Hawk]

If I was a NY trainer, why would I want to put Borel on my horse? He is unfamiliar with Belmont, and I have quite a talented colony to choose from. Why in the world would I want to ride Borel?

Has nothing to do with shutting him out...had everything to do with not giving a crap....

Totally agree. But also, there were several big races, where trainers had been pointing and had their usual guys lined up well in advance. Also, it's not like Borel went out of his way to get business all week while in NY.

[Shemp Howard]

I was told Hank "The Hammer" Goldberg had this story on race day but it was squelched by the Bristol, CT brain trust. No reporting anymore just doing business together.

[jasperson]

There were several races that were ridden by no nothing jockeys that had never ridden that horse before that could have used Borel nicely. I mean a zero for 16 jockey. Also why was the track fast than owl do do on the day after heavy rain. I am not normally a conspiracy crier by it does happen. I state before the race that Belmont would do everything they could to make the track fast. Come the only way they could make that track fast was to blade of some of the cushion. I also predict that the derby the Snow Chief raced in was going to be one of the slowest on a fast track since the 40's. There was no way Kentucky was going allow an illbred Cal bred front runner to win the derby. By the way he won the preakness on a fast track. If you do believe a conspiracy exists then name one big time trainer that uses him as their go to jockey.:mad:

[PaceAdvantage]

Of course they're going to do everything they can to get the track fast...it's Belmont Stakes day.

It stopped raining before MIDNIGHT Friday. The track had TWELVE HOURS of DRY weather...plus a maintainance crew that was working the track since at least dawn....

I'm not sure where there is the unusual in this instance.

Now, the Easy Goer / Sunday Silence Belmont....THAT was an amazing feat to get the track fast...which they did...by the first race I believe...

[alhattab]

Of course they're going to do everything they can to get the track fast...it's Belmont Stakes day.

It stopped raining before MIDNIGHT Friday. The track had TWELVE HOURS of DRY weather...plus a maintainance crew that was working the track since at least dawn....

I'm not sure where there is the unusual in this instance.

Now, the Easy Goer / Sunday Silence Belmont....THAT was an amazing feat to get the track fast...which they did...by the first race I believe...

You are correct PA. I recall being there when Marshall Cassidy came on for the changes and said words to the effect of "The Main Track....amazingly....is....fast".

Now if there was ever a reason to believe that the house was doing right by one of its residents, it was for the 1989 Belmont. I'm almost certain at the time that Ogden Phipps was on the NYRA Board (if not the chairman), and (New York's) Easy Goer didn't care much for wet tracks. So the boys probably worked through the night to get that track in shape.

[PaceAdvantage]

The night before the EG/SS Belmont was the ONLY time I can remember when my parents basement took on water...it was raining THAT much the night before...

[Imriledup]

The night before the EG/SS Belmont was the ONLY time I can remember when my parents basement took on water...it was raining THAT much the night before...

Congrats on 20k posts! :ThmbUp:

[NJ Stinks]

I was at Belmont the Friday before the Belmont and on Belmont Saturday in 1989. "Amazing" is not a word I would have chose. The track on Saturday was as deep as they could possibly make it and favored Easy Goer to an absurd degree. Whittingham obviously agreed.

This year, after all that rain on Friday, I think it was setup for a speedster like NY's Charitable Man.

I could be wrong but it's fun to believe! :D

[ryesteve]

The track on Saturday was as deep as they could possibly make it and favored Easy Goer to an absurd degree.If the track was that deep, wouldn't that have resulted in a much slower race?

[rokitman]

The night before the EG/SS Belmont was the ONLY time I can remember when my parents basement took on water...it was raining THAT much the night before...How was it this year? Aren't you a little past due on moving out?

[PaceAdvantage]

Congrats on 20k posts! :ThmbUp:I hadn't even noticed...but thanks!

[PaceAdvantage]

How was it this year? Aren't you a little past due on moving out?You need to learn how to use the emoticon if you are going to post something like that...I almost took you seriously...:lol:

[pktruckdriver]

New York



It is what it is, sorry Borel....




To me that is what happened, no one cared one bit for him, and why should they, great guy or not, business is business, especially in......


New York

[joanied]

New York



It is what it is, sorry Borel....




To me that is what happened, no one cared one bit for him, and why should they, great guy or not, business is business, especially in......


New York


It's a hell of a town!!!!!

[BUD]

Tell that to the Folks at Fenway:D

Me I wanted to switch to the NYPD Wife Number 1 Was dead set against it-

oh well thats life----Still what could have been:(